Gun control is one of the controversial issues in the United States that people on both sides refuse to view in anything but black and white. Gun control advocates such as the Brady Campaign, an organization that is is for very strict gun control legislation, preach that all firearms are bad and make implications that all gun owners are dangerous. On the other hand, many Second Amendment advocates seem to think that any gun law is bad and seeks to take away their rights. This black and white concept is one of the many problems facing politics today, and it is especially a problem when dealing with the public's opinion on gun control. It is a well known fact, though many do not wish to believe it, that a vast majority of the public form their opinions based almost solely on what they see in the media, what they hear from their friends, and what they read in those annoying “forward this to every person you've ever met” emails. We have all been taught that “everyone is entitled to their opinion” and we therefore have to respect that opinion, even when it is baseless or illogical. The saying that we should be teaching our children is that everyone is entitled to a researched opinion based on fact. If everyone had opinions based more on fact, then it would be much easier to respect the other side, and possibly easier for everyone to get along and make a compromise; and the issue of gun control is in great need of compromise.
Gun control advocates seek to create new gun laws that will make Americans feel safer by keeping guns out of dangerous hands. The idea behind gun control is a good one, but the problem arises in the implementation of those laws. Studies have shown that stricter gun control laws actually have little to no effect on violent crime rates (Moorhouse & Wanner, 2006). With that said, contrary to what many pro gun advocates seem to imply, not all gun control laws are bad. The gun control advocates and gun lobbyists need to find a middle ground and create gun control laws that are reasonably strict so as to help keep guns out of the wrong hands, but at the same time not infringe on law abiding citizens rights. While the implementation of harsher background checks and uniform waiting periods are an inconvenience for those legally purchasing firearms, if the system could help to save more lives, most law abiding gun owners would put up with the inconvenience. If the federal government could universally implement a more thorough background check system, more citizens who should not posses firearms might be denied. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “In 2008, 1.5% of the 9.9 million applications for firearm transfers or permits were denied” but not all states use the same background check process, with some background checks being more thorough than others, catching more invalid applicants than other states (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2011). If the federal government implemented a universal thorough background check system that all states had to comply with, more guns might be kept out of the wrong hands that would be purchased legally. Unfortunately there are no laws that will keep people from acquiring firearms on the black market, but maybe a better background system will prevent even a few more guns from getting into the wrong hands.
Gun control advocates such as the Brady Campaign like to imply that all gun owners are dangerous and we therefore need to implement strict gun control laws in order to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. Gun control enthusiasts will often mention the dangerous people with concealed carry permits who commit crimes, according to the Violence Policy Center from May 2007 to present, there have been 288 unlawful homicides committed by concealed carry permit holders. At first glance this is a shocking number, but when we look at those numbers honestly, it appears that they are using scare tactics to get people on their side (Concealed carry killers, 2011). According to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Licensing, Florida alone currently has 793,809 concealed carry weapons (CCW) permit holders and if those were the only CCW permit holders in the United States, those 288 unlawful homicides would have been perpetrated by .03% of CCW permit holders (2011). The actual percentage of CCW permit holders that have committed crimes is so insurmountable that it is insulting to actually mention it. Gun control enthusiast also like to downplay the number of citizens who lawfully use a firearm to protect themselves. Two different studies done in 1995 and 1997 respectively found that in the five year period preceding their study, there were 1.5 to 2.5 million defensive gun uses, including both handguns and long guns such as rifles and shotguns (Kleck & Gertz, 1995; Southwick Jr, 1997). Even if the estimation of defensive gun uses is high, there is still a significant number of people who are legally using their firearms to defend themselves from an assailant, and there is a large number of law abiding gun owners who legally use their guns to protect themselves.
Pro-gun lobbyists such as the NRA need to realize that not all gun control legislation is bad, and the gun control enthusiasts need to realize that there are far more law abiding gun owners than not. The NRA serves its purpose very well and protects its constituents by representing their opinions in the legislative process. As a card carrying, life member of the NRA, I both agree with they do and disagree with other things they do. Gun enthusiasts like to point fingers at the Brady Campaign saying that they use scare tactics to get people to join their cause, but the NRA is often no better. Both sides like to massage data to help their cause, but they need to see that at the essence of the gun control battle, the idea is to keep law abiding citizens and gun owners safe. As an owner of multiple firearms, I would hate to see unfairly harsh laws put into place that would end up punishing me as a law abiding citizen and responsible gun owner, in order to “keep the public safe.” There is a middle ground in the gun debate, we just have to all work together and compromise in order to create a fair balance between public safety and our right to keep and bear arms.
References
Bureau of Justice Statistics, (2011). Background checks for firearm transfers, 2008 - statistical tables Retrieved from <http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/html/bcft/2008/bcft08st.cfm>.
Concealed carry killers. (2011). Violence Policy Center, Retrieved from <http://www.vpc.org/ccwkillers.htm>.
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Licensing. (2011). Concealed weapon / firearm summary report Retrieved from <http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/stats/cw_monthly.html>.
Kleck, G. , & Gertz, M. (1995). Armed resistance to crime: The prevalence and nature of self-defense with a gun. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 86(1), 150-187. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Moorhouse, J. C., & Wanner, B. (2006). DOES GUN CONTROL REDUCE CRIME OR DOES CRIME INCREASE GUN CONTROL?. CATO Journal, 26(1), 103-124. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Southwick Jr, L. (1997). Guns and justifiable homicide: deterrence and defense. St. Louis University Public Law Review, 18(1), Retrieved from <http://saf.org/LawReviews/SouthwickJr1.htm>.
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